


Belong

by Ruis



Category: Fairy Tales & Related Fandoms, Sorbian Mythology & Folklore
Genre: Dark Magic, Deal with a Devil, Drabble, Fairy Tale Retellings, Folk Tale, Folklore, Gen, Gothic, Wizards
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-27 15:18:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19793581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruis/pseuds/Ruis
Summary: “I know who I belong to“, Krabat said. He saw his mentor acknowledge the many-layered truth of that with a nod and a grim smile. “And still.”





	Belong

**Author's Note:**

  * For [disgruntled_owl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/disgruntled_owl/gifts).



“I know who I belong to“, Krabat said. He saw his mentor acknowledge the many-layered truth of that with a nod and a grim smile. “And still.”  
“Of all my students…” The miller broke off, seemingly unsure how to continue. “You have always been the most brilliant. The most worthy. The one I have almost considered my son.” Were those tears in his eyes? “I had hoped…”  
So had Krabat, once, but he had been younger then. “You should have given up all hope a long time ago.” It was with genuine regret that he turned to go. “I’m sorry”.

**Author's Note:**

> Dear disgruntled_owl,  
> I saw in your prompt you’re interested in mentor-student relationships, gothic tales, villains and their motives and power dynamics – and, well, the Sorbian folk tale of Krabat has all of that, including a mentor-student relationship that _literally_ goes to hell. So I hope you enjoy the fic!  
> A note about canon: in the (awesome) children’s book version by Otfried Preußler, Krabat swears off dark magic after being freed from the mill. The original folk tales are decidedly less kid-friendly; in most versions, Krabat is very much in league with the devil himself. As long as it suits him, anyway. (Having a dark mage on the side of more-or-less-good is pretty much unique in European folklore, I think.) He’s also not above using his (or, rather, the devil’s) powers for (minor) crimes, and the fate of his soul has _several_ close calls.  
> I guess what fascinated me here is Krabat and the miller as two sides of the same coin, just with one of them being irredeemable, and the other not… Not quite. It’s a fine line that nevertheless makes them mortal enemies. Still, at some point, they must have liked and respected each other!


End file.
